


Myths & Lies

by mcgonamum



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:29:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27473554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgonamum/pseuds/mcgonamum
Summary: When Adrian Pucey has multiple filthy rumours spread about Katie Bell, her knight in shining armour punches the git in the face.
Relationships: Alicia Spinnet/George Weasley, Katie Bell/Oliver Wood
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue

Romilda Vane stood in the dark corridor, her hands linked, her thumbs twiddling nervously. A shadowy figure approached her from behind a suit of armour in the corner, their face hidden in the dark of the night. It spoke in a deep voice.

"I heard that you'll spread something for me," they said.

Romilda paused. "...for the right price," she replied with a tone of uneasiness. She didn't like not knowing who she was making a deal with.

The figure's hand came into the flickering light, holding a handful of sickles. "Will this do it?"

"Depends on what you want me to spread," she said. "And I won't spread it unless I know the source," Romilda added quickly.

The figure hesitated before coming fully into the light. He was a Slytherin boy, a few years older than Romilda. She recognized him as Adrian Pucey.

"Good," Romilda said. "Now what do you want me to spread?"

Adrian came closer to her and whispered in her ear something very foul. Something so foul that Romilda almost refused to work with him, but she got an excellent idea.

"That's going to be five galleons," Romilda said.

"Five galleons? That's ridiculous!" He exclaimed in a whisper.

"Look, do you want me to spread it around or not? The more insane the rumour, the more expensive it costs," Romilda pointed out.

Adrian grunted before pulling out five pgolden galleons from his pocket and placing them into Romilda's outstretched hand. She smiled contently before sliding the coins into her robe's pocket. "Tomorrow at breakfast," she stated. "That's when I'll do it."

Adrian nodded before turning around quickly and silently making his way back to his common room.

Romilda sighed and started climbing the stairs quietly. When she reached the top, she heard a noise that sounded like whispering coming from around the corner. She quickly ducked behind a statue and held her breath. The whispering passed by her, but she saw no people to accompany it. Figuring that it was just the ghosts, Romilda crept her way out from behind the statue, and made her way back to her common room, where she fell right onto her bed and fell asleep.

At breakfast the next morning, Romilda put no food on her plate. This was such a foul secret that she was going to tell, and she knew that she shouldn't, people would be at her throat when they found out that she spread it around the school.

Hesitantly, Romilda leant in towards her fellow gryffindor friends. "Guys," She said in a somewhat quiet tone. The group of six people turned towards her and leant in to hear what she had to say. Romilda looked to see if the victim of Pucey's rumour was around. She wasn't.

"I heard that Katie Bell was caught getting off to a picture of Adrian Pucey in the quidditch locker room."

The six girls around Romilda gasped before turning to people around them and spreading the lie.

"Did you hear about Katie Bell? She was caught getting off to a picture of Adrian Pucey. In the locker room! She was basically asking to get caught." One girl said to a nearby Ravenclaw fourth year. The fourth year gasped before quickly running back to their table to tell their friends. 

"...I bet she let him... you know." Said another as she made hand motions to a Slytherin second year who was passing by.

By the time breakfast was over, the rumour had spread across over half the school. Nearly everyone was talking about it, and Romilda could tell that Katie Bell hadn't heard anything about it yet. Katie sat with her quidditch team, she and the others laughed at something that Oliver Wood had just said.

"Nice job, Vane." She heard someone say as they walked passed. She turned to see Adrian Pucey strutting past her, a smirk on his face.


	2. 1

Katie Bell stood outside the quidditch change rooms as she waited for Oliver Wood to finish up. A group of girls walked passed and giggled as they saw her. Katie grew angry, this was the third time someone laughed at her in the past five minutes, and she had no idea why.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Katie Asked the girls.

"What do you mean?" One of them asked.

"Is there something off with my face? Because you lot can't seem to stop laughing at it," Katie pointed out.

"Er— no. Nothing wrong with your face," another replied.

"Then could you stop giggling at me? I'm sure you have loads better to do with your time."

"Oh— er— we weren't laughing at you, just, uh— where you are."

"What do you mean?" Katie Asked.

The girls giggled again before scurrying off, refusing to tell her anything.

Katie sighed and she turned around, seeing her friends Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet running towards her, waving their arms frantically with looks of urgency on their face. 

"Katie! Katie! Are you alright?" Cried Angelina.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Katie asked worriedly.

"There's a... rumour.... going around," said Alicia.

"It's bad, Katie, really bad," continued Angelina.

"Well, What is it? Is it about me?" Katie Asked.

"It is," said Alicia. "They said that you were caught... getting off to a picture of Adrian Pucey."

Katie heard the door to the locker room swing open as Alicia was talking, and Oliver stood in the doorway, his mouth hung open.

"He said what?!" Oliver shouted as he slammed the door shut. "Where is that foul git? I am going to—!"

Katie reached her hand out and grabbed Oliver by the wrist. "Oliver stop!" She cried out as he pulled out of her grasp and stomped towards the castle.

The three girls followed him in a speeded walk as Oliver's long legs allowed him to march at the pace of one of their runs. The girls continued to shout at Oliver, telling him to stop, but he didn't listen. His face was as hard as stone as he made his way into the castle and towards the Great Hall, where the rest of the students were eating lunch.

At the Slytherin table, Pucey and his posse sat laughing and making jokes.

"Yeah, well, I can't wait to see her face when she finds out," Pucey said. "I bet she'll cry."

"She'll probably hide for weeks!" Exclaimed another.

"No, Pucey, the only one who'll be crying is you," Oliver snarled. Adrian turned around and glared at Oliver.

"What do you want, Wood? Jealous that your girl is more in to me?" Pucey and the group of boys laughed and Oliver's snarl grew more menacing. Pucey gulped at the sight of Oliver's foaming mouth and murderous eyes.

The muscles on Oliver's arms and neck tensed for a moment and then he lunged. Adrian was knocked out of his seat and the two boys rolled on the ground, smacking, punching and kicking each other. Students from every house were now surrounding them, and Oliver's growls and profanities could be heard over their roar.

Blood was now dripping from Adrian's mouth and nose, one of his front teeth was lying on the floor near where Adrian lay, with Oliver on top of him, smacking him over and over again.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape intervened, pulling the two boys apart with as much strength as they could muster. The extent of the boys' injuries were now visible. Pucey had at least three teeth knocked out, his faced had turned different shades of blue, purple and red, and his nose was crooked from when Oliver punched him square in the centre of his face.

Oliver had less severe injuries, seeing as he was the attacker. His face was bruised and swollen, and he had a bloody nose. The professors seemed very angry and disappointed as they dragged the students to the infirmary by the collars of their dress robes. Katie could now feel the tears that had streamed down her face, and she wiped them away with her sleeves as she tried to catch her breath.

Alicia and Angelina both took one of Katie's arms and brought her back up to the Gryffindor common room, where they went up to Alicia and Angelina's dorm.

"Katie, why did Pucey call you Oliver's 'girl?'" Alicia asked with a grin.

"What?" Katie asked with a baffled look, still trying to control her breathing.

"Pucey, he said to Oliver 'are you mad that your girl's more into me than you?' and then Oliver attacked him! What was that about?" Alicia asked again.

"I— I don't know, Pucey's an idiot."

"That, my friend, is the only thing that has made sense all day today," Angelina laughed.

"Where did that rumour come from, though? Was it because of what happened last week?" Alicia asked.

"What happened last week?" Angelina asked, leaning closer to the girls.

"Pucey asked me out," Katie whispered as they passed a group of third year students. "And I said no."

Angelina gasped as Alicia started cackling. "The Bloody git couldn't just take no, could he?" Alicia said through her laughs.

"Clearly! What an arse," Angelina exclaimed. "'Licia, stop laughing, this isn't funny!"

The three girls pushed another group of students and continued to make their way to the gryffindor common room.

"Well, What are you then?" Alicia Asked Katie.

"What?"

"You and Oliver! Are you dating? Are you flirting? Are you friends?"

"Friends with benefits?" Angelina added with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, yes! And no. Oliver and I are just friends! No benefits! I bet he would do the same for either one of you, had the same thing happened."

"Katie, all three of us know that's false. Oliver would do anything for you," Alicia argued.

"Yeah because he sees me as his little sister! You both know that Oliver and I have known each other for nearly our entire lives, we're next door neighbours for Christ's sake!"

"Which means that you guys have a bond like no other,"Angelina teased.

"Honestly, guys, give it a rest, we don't have any sort of romantic philandering going on," Katie sighed in annoyance.

The two other girls seemed to take the hint and changed the topic.

"Oh! Alicia, how did you do on that Ancient Runes test?" Angelina asked.

Alicia sighed and threw her hands up in the air. "I swear, Babbling has it out for me! She gave me a sixty five percent, when I deserved at least a seventy! I studied so hard for that test!"

"If by studied, you mean getting friendly with Kenneth Towler! We all saw you two in the common room last night!" Angelina laughed, and Katie, who had finally calmed herself down, gave a small giggle.

"But he's so handsome! and he's showing interest in me, and is not interested in that awful Patrica Warburton, I finally have a chance!" Alicia exclaimed.

"I do admit, Ken is handsome, but he's absolute rubbish at Care of Magical Creatures. I wouldn't be his partner if he was the last person on Earth! You should have seen his Glumbumble at the end of the unit! He had over-fed it, and it gained three kilograms! Glumbumbles shouldn't be over two!" Angelina pointed out with a grim look.

"He may be rubbish at Care of Magical Creatures, but he is excellent at Charms, I watched him do a cheering charm in class, and let's just say that Flitwick was more than impressed," Alicia counteracted.

By this point, the three girls had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and told her the password ( _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ ) and entered the Gryffindor common room, which was in more of a frenzy than the Great Hall. Students were jam-packed in the room, so much so that there were students sitting on each other's laps on the furniture, and out of each student's mouths came the words 'Oliver Wood,' 'Adrian Pucey,' and 'Fist-fight.' 

Immediately after they were seen by the other students, Katie, Angelina, and Alicia were surrounded by curious students, asking if the fight was over the rumours, whether Oliver and Pucey were quarreling over Katie, and which boy she was either courting or if she fancied either. The students were shouting over each other and pushing one another to try and be heard by Katie and her friends, who surrounded her as though they were her body guards, and shielded her as they made their way to Angelica and Alicia's dormitory.

"Why are they so invested in my bloody love life?" Katie sighed out of frustration.

"So you do admit that it's your love life then? So you do fancy Oliver?" Angelina teased.

"No! I— I don't! I just mean that they keep asking me who I fancy and all sorts of other questions related to that! I don't fancy anyone, they need to leave me alone!" Katie exclaimed, her cheeks burning up from anger and embarrassment.

Katie laid down in Alicia's bed, pulling the covers over her head to hide in shame.

"Katie... we're sorry, we didn't mean to—"

"Yeah, Kate, and don't listen to them, I'm sure they'll get distracted by something else soon enough," Angelina assured as they heard shouts and laughter coming from the common room. "See?"

Katie pulled the covers off of her head as the door slammed open, and George barged into the dorm with Oliver in his arms, bruised and broken.

"George! Oliver! What are you doing up here?" Katie Asked in disbelief.

"Poor Ollie here tried coming up here and when he fell down the slide, he hit his head off the sofa and people started to trample him. I got him up here as fast as I could," George explained.

"But how did you get up here, George?" Katie followed up.

"Oh it's not that hard, I come up here all the time," George said nonchalantly, as Alicia's cheeks and neck turned a bright scarlet.

"Oh? You do?" Angelina looked at Alicia accusingly, causing the rest of her face to turn red as well.

"I-- uh--" 

"Uh-oh, George, you're in trouble now," Oliver laughed as Angelina and Alicia both glared at George with deadly looks on their faces. The girls charged, and Oliver stood out of the way for George, who pushed himself towards the door and out of the room, leaving Katie and Oliver alone in their dorm.

The two sat in silence for a few moments at separate ends of the room, both trying not to look at one another. At once, all of Katie's emotions flooded through her, and she burst into tears, as loud sobs protruded throughout her body. Oliver rushed over to the bed and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back gently.

"What's wrong, lass?" he asked softly.

Katie let out a loud sob and buried her head into Oliver's chest. "Why did you do that? I specifically asked you not to go after Pucey but you did anyways! An now you’re hurt, and it’s because of me," Katie cried.

"Look at me," Oliver said. "Look, I'm not hurt," he said, letting go of Katie to stand up and do a silly dance move. Katie let out a chuckle through her sobs.

"You see, nothing to be upset about," Oliver gave a comforting smile. Katie gave a small smile back as Oliver sat back down next to her. He wrapped his arms around Katie and her cries lessened until small tears were streaming down her face silently.

Once she had stopped sobbing, Oliver pulled away and cupped Katie's cheeks. "You don't have to worry about me, Katie, I'm going to be fine," Oliver reassured, wiping her tears off of her cheeks using his thumbs. Katie's eyes met his and she smiled softly.

"Just don't ever try and dance again. That was terrifying."


	3. 2

Katie sat at the Gryffindor table silently in the Great Hall. Her nerves had completely taken over, and much like the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, she couldn't eat. The fact that they had only been able to train properly for their upcoming match that morning for three days made her usual subtle morning nausea all too much stronger, and the weather was not helping the team's anxiety.

The day before the match, winds had picked up to groundbreaking records, and the sky had gone grey. Now, however, the weather was much worse, and the rain was so thick that Katie could barely see when she looked out the window. When quarter to eleven struck, the team stood up and left for the change rooms, which were down by the Quidditch pitch. Their brooms on their shoulders, they marched down, single file, to the change rooms. Once fully dressed in their scarlet Quidditch robes, they waited in complete and utter silence for Oliver's first big speech of the season, but what came out of his mouth was barely encouraging.

"I hope we're ready," he started with a grim look. "I know that the change of opponents threw us off our game, but I think we've trained long and hard enough in the past three days to beat Hufflepuff. I just hope the weather doesn't affect our playing too much."

"Don't worry Ol', we've got this," said Angelina with a smile. 

Oliver paused. "It's going to be a tough one."

"Oh, stop worrying Oliver, we don't mind a bit of rain," Alicia said.

Oliver paced silently across the change room as every one stared at him expectantly. Every so often, he would stop, look and them and open his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, then snapped it shut and started pacing again. Eventually, Oliver stopped and waved his arm towards the team, beckoning them to follow him. They all grabbed their brooms and made their way onto the pitch. Whether or not the crowd was cheering for them didn't matter, they couldn't hear it over the thunder, and if Katie wasn't standing next to Alicia, she wouldn't have mounted her broom or kicked off on time.

In no time, the game was in action. Angelina, who had acquired the Quaffle first, passed it to Alicia, who sped off towards the Hufflepuff hoops. Katie could barely keep up, her Cleansweep Seven was swerving in every direction except forwards. Eventually, Katie stopped struggling and tried to gently push her broom forwards. It worked, and she went zooming towards the other end of the pitch, where Hufflepuff's chasers were trying to intercept the Quaffle. Katie got in front of one of them, and Alicia threw the ball to her. Quickly, Katie examined her location prior to the hoops, and took into account the wind. She would have to get closer, and throw towards the right if she wanted to get a point. Katie dodged Heidi Macavoy's attempt to block her, and swerved towards the three hoops. She threw to the right, and with a leaping heart, watched the Quaffle hit the inside of the hoop and bounce through. Cheers from the crowd blended into the thunder and Katie had to stop herself from covering her ears in fear of falling off of her broom if she let go. 

A chaser from the other team grabbed the Quaffle and started flying towards Oliver. Katie tried to catch up to the rest of the team, but again her broom was holding her back as she tried to turn. Eventually, the wind, which had changed directions, blew her nearly into the crowd, and she had to duck as a Bludger came plummeting towards her out of nowhere.

Before she knew it, Gryffindor was up 60-10, and Oliver had called a time out. Six out of the Seven players on their team stood under massive umbrellas, collecting themselves as Oliver waved to Harry, motioning him to come to the ground.

"I called a time out!" Oliver shouted over the storm. Harry descended and joined Fred and George under their umbrella. 

Oliver, who stood with Katie, was shivering, and his teeth chattering before he started asking Harry what was going on as Harry's friends rushed onto the pitch.

"I can't see with these bloody things!" Harry exclaimed, waving his glasses around hastily. 

"Harry! I've got an idea!" said Harry's friend, Hermione. She waved her wand over his glasses. "There! They'll repel water!"

Harry and Oliver both grinned. "Brilliant thinking, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed.

"Excellent, we've got our Seeker back!" Oliver cheered as Madame Hooch blew her whistle, signalling for them to go back onto the pitch.

The match started up again, and this time, Katie's broom was worse than before. It seemed as though the short break for the player's restoration had set Katie's broom over the edge, and she lagged several feet behind the rest of the players.

"Katie, come on!" shouted Angelina as she was in desperate need of help. The three Hufflepuff chasers had crowded around her, and the two beaters surrounded Alicia, preventing either of them from getting the chance to score. 

"I'm trying!" Katie exclaimed, smacking her broom by the handle. It didn't seem to like that, and Katie lost control as her broom sank through the air for a few seconds, leaving her underneath the rest of the players. Katie urged her broom upwards, but it wouldn't budge. Her hands stuck to the handle as it started to freeze.

Up above, Harry was soaring as fast as he could towards Cedric Diggory, who was about a foot away from the golden snitch. Harry was nearly at the tail of Diggory's broom when he started free falling into a black mass that was made of hundreds of dementors. Katie watched in horror as Professor Dumbledore stopped Harry from plummeting to his death, and Madame Hooch flew to the ground to magic Harry onto a stretcher, no doubt bringing him Madame Pomfrey in the Infirmary. 

The crowd became ear shatteringly loud as Diggory's fingers clasped around the golden snitch. He looked back to grin at Harry, but found him being pulled off the pitch as Dumbledore forced the dementors off of the pitch. He looked distraught and tried to call off the match. "It wasn't fair, the other seeker--"

"Diggory! Enough!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "Hufflepuff has won the quidditch match, one hundred and sixty points to sixty. All of you calm down, the match is over."

Katie and the rest team sulked back to the change rooms behind Oliver, who was marching with a violent demeanor, muttering about ruddy dementors and bloody thunderstorms. Gryffindor had lost the first match of the season to Hufflepuff.

Nearly half an hour later, Katie and the Quidditch team -sans Oliver- and Ron and Hermione sat crowded around Harry's bed in the infirmary, waiting impatiently for him to wake up.

"Lucky the ground was so soft," George whispered to the rest of the team.

"I thought he was dead for sure," added Fred. "But he didn't even break his glasses."

Katie shivered. "That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life," she whimpered. "Hundreds of dementors all trying to lure us in, take away all our happiness. It was so cold."

Angelina rubbed a warm hand on Katie's back in a comforting manner.

"Harry!" shouted Fred with a grin as Harry's eyes fluttered open. His mud-drenched face wrinkled as he grimaced at Fred's booming voice, and he put his hand up to cradle his head. "How're you feeling?"

Harry sat up quickly and looked around. "What happened?" he asked suddenly.

"You fell off," George explained.

"Must've been what- fifty feet?" Fred asked.

"We all thought you died," Alicia chattered through her teeth.

"But-- the match," said Harry. "What happened? Are we having a replay?"

The entire hospital wing went silent, none of them wanting to explain the terrible defeat that their team had just endured to their youngest player.

"We didn't-- lose?" Harry's voice was breaking. It sounded as though he were about to break into tears.

"Diggory got the snitch just after you fell," George explained. "He hadn't realised what happened until it was too late. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch, but they won fair and square... even Wood admits it."

"Where is Wood?" Harry asked, his voice croaking as he looked around.

"Still in the showers," said Fred. "We reckon he's trying to drown himself.

Harry put his face into his knees, his hands gripping his hair. The team all came closer and tried to comfort him, Fred eerily putting a hand on Harry's shoulder as Katie sunk away from the group and left the Infirmary hastily, running towards the showers. She hadn't even thought to check on Oliver, who, clearly, was taking their loss horribly.

Katie rushed into the change room and found Oliver sitting on the bench, clad in only a towel, his face in his hands. Katie sat down at the end of the bench cautiously. He looked as though he were about to burst at any given moment.

"Ol' are you okay?" 

Oliver didn't look at Katie as he let out a grunt in reply, his left eye twitching as he clenched his jaw.

"Oliver, it's no one's fault that we-- we played great, especially for the conditions that we were in," Katie explained softly. "You saved nearly every shot they took on our net. If those dementors hadn't made Harry faint, we would've won."

Oliver sighed and his shoulders dropped in defeat. "You're right," he whispered, almost inaudible.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Katie teased, a grin pulling at her lips.

Oliver scowled. "Don't test me, Bell," he snarled. Katie felt a lump form in her throat and left silently, leaving Oliver to get changed with a look of regret on his face. As she waited outside the change room, she could see younger students whispering among themselves, some of them pointed at her. Katie rolled her eyes, she was tired of that bloody rumour that Pucey had started.

Seething with anger as a group of Slytherin boys walked past her and whistled, she pushed her way through a group of gossiping students to try and make her way back up to the castle when she heard something that pushed her over the edge.

"Bell and Wood, I heard them going at it in the broom closet on the fourth floor last night..."

"How filthy!"

Katie walked up to the group of younger Gryffindor girls and they stared at her with judging expressions. "Is there something wrong here?" Katie asked coolly. 

One of the girls, possibly their leader, looked at Katie, scanning her head to toe, then looked back at her face with a smirk. "The only thing wrong here is your presence," she glared.

Katie frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Are you deaf? Can't you hear? Or did Wood shag you senseless in the showers?" the girl accused.

Katie gasped, she was lost for words. "I-- I have never-- I--"

"Oh really? You haven't? That's hard to believe." The girl coughed, which sounded an awful lot like she was covering up the word 'slag.'

Katie felt a presence behind her.

"What did you just say?" Oliver snarled from behind her. The girls looked up, fear flashing in their eyes as they scampered backwards a few steps. 

"N-nothing--" one of them stammered.

"That's right. You said nothing, because you are nothing. You are the bottom of the food chain, do you hear me? If I hear one more word out of any of you about Katie Bell, I will personally make your life a living Hell. Do you understand me?" Oliver barked. The girls nodded their heads hurriedly. Oliver looked even angrier than earlier, if it was even possible. His faced burned a deep scarlet, nearly purple, and veins were throbbing out of his neck and forehead. "Get out of here before I change my mind and hurt you so bad that you wont be able to speak for a month," Oliver spat. The girls hurried away and ran up to the castle, none of them looking back at Katie and Oliver.

"Come on," Oliver said, grabbing Katie by the arm and marching back up to the castle. The rain had started back up again as Oliver dragged Katie along the soaking path. 

Upon reaching the end of the path, Katie and Oliver ducked into the warmth of the castle, Oliver still grumbling, and Katie's tears threatening to fall. They pushed their way through the crowds of excited students, and made their way to the Gryffindor common room, where students were deep in conversations, many of them were upset about the turnout of the Quidditch match. Oliver, still holding Katie's wrist, pulled her towards the couch closest to the fireplace, which was occupied by a group of second years.

"Move," Oliver snapped at them. They scattered like thrown dice, one boy falling onto his face as he rushed away.

"Oliver, you're being a bit harsh," said Katie.

"No I'm not," Oliver replied, finally letting go of Katie's arm as they sat down on the now vacant sofa, the roaring fire heating them up from their damp journey. After a few moments of silence, Oliver stood up.

"You know what? I can't do this," he said, making his way towards the portrait hole. Katie shot up and followed him.

"Oliver, where are you going?" She asked, concerned.

"It's none of your business," Oliver replied, his face as hard as stone as they walked briskly through the empty hallways.

"Why are you so mad?" 

"Go back to the common room, Katie."

"Oliver, tell me what's going on, I'm worried."

Oliver didn't respond. Instead, he looked straight forward and marched down the corridor.

"Oliver! What's wrong with you? First you threaten me, then you defend me, and now you're ignoring me? If this is about the Quidditch match, then don't worry about it! We still have a chance of winning the Cup, and--"

"This isn't about the Cup, Katie!" Oliver spun to face her. His eyes softened as he saw the hurt in Katie's face. "I-- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I just can't stand all these rumours about you. I don't want anyone to hurt you," he said. "Or Harry! I-- I mean we-- can't afford to lose Harry, especially with all this ruckus with Black being after him and the rubbish that Trelawney's been spewing about his demise. It's unbearable!" He added quickly.

Katie frowned. "Is that where you're going? To visit Harry?"

Oliver had a guilty look on his face. "I wasn't but I'm changing my route," he replied.

"Well, he's still in the hospital wing," Katie informed. "I'll see you later, Ol'. And do us all a favour and remind Harry that it wasn't his fault that we lost. The kid is beating himself up about it, even though we told him about a million times that it wasn't his fault. Reckon he wants to hear it from you."

Oliver gave Katie a grimace before turning into a corridor that lead to the hospital wing. Katie sighed before continuing down their original path, going to the Great Hall for supper. Upon her entry, conversations turned into hushed whispers, and she could hear her name being thrown around, especially at the Slytherin table.

Katie rolled her eyes and sat down in between Alicia and Angelina, the Weasley twins and their little brother, Ron, across from them.

"How's Harry?" Katie asked.

"Still torn up about his broom. Was smashed to smithereens by the Whomping Willow," Alicia responded. "How's Oliver?"

"He's... not great. Not even good. Expect harsher drills and longer practices from now on. I don't expect he'll let us live down this loss until we've got the Cup in our hands."

"I heard his cussing out the water in the showers," George said. "Had to leave, thought he was going to punch a hole through the stall."

"Ouch," said Angelina.

"Let's just forget about quidditch until tomorrow morning, when Oliver wakes us up at four to practice. I hope he doesn't make us go on a diet to get us into better shape," Alicia joked with a not-so-sincere smile on her face. Fear dwelt over the team as they looked down at their filled dinner plates. Almost in perfect sync, they all started stuffing their faces at once.


	4. 3

As they had expected, the next month was full of harder drills, harsher practices, and constant rants on Oliver's part, trying to remind them that if they didn't beat each team by a certain amount of points, that they would lose the Quidditch Cup... again.

After the match against Hufflepuff, Katie's broom was no longer effective. When she wanted to go up, it would go left, and when she wanted to go right it would start spinning very fast until Katie felt like she was about to fall off.

However, Katie wasn't the only person on the team with broom issues. Harry's broom had been smashed to irreplaceably small pieces during the last match, and he was forced to use one of the school's brooms, and his current Shooting Star was not working in his favour either.

"Do it again!" Oliver shouted from his goalpost. Alicia, Katie, and Angelina all had to weave between each other, while also dodging bludgers that Fred and George we're aiming at them, while Harry was doing laps around the pitch, as fast as he could manage on his second-hand broom.

After the fifth three-woman weave, Katie's broom had had enough, and started descending rapidly.

"Katie! What do you think you're bloody doing?! Get back up here!" Oliver shouted from the goalposts.

"It's my broom! I can't control it!" Katie exclaimed as her feet smashed into the ground, sending her toppling into the frozen earth.

Oliver flew to the ground with a growl. "What's going on?" He demanded as the rest of the team came down and surrounded the two of them.

"It's this bloody Cleansweep is trying to kill me, that's what!" Katie shouted. "Not only that, but our captain is too bloody blind from one loss against Hufflepuff to see that he's pushing us past our limits!"

"No I'm not! We're working hard, but not hard enough," Oliver stated. 

"No, Oliver! We played great against Hufflepuff, especially for the conditions we were in! And it wasn't anyone's fault but bloody Sirius Black's that we lost the match! So, whether you mind or not, I'm going to the showers, and I'm going back to the common room, seeing as it's ten o'clock at night, and I've got three essays due and two tests coming up." Katie turned around sharply and started marching off the pitch.

"Bell, if you leave this practice, you're off the team! I will replace you!" Oliver shouted after her.

"Go ahead! Replace me! But don't come crying when you've lost the quidditch cup because you had an incompetent chaser!" Katie threw her broom on the turf and left the stadium, anger seething through her. Screw Oliver Wood. Screw the bloody Cleansweep 6. Screw Adrian Pucey and Slytherin house and screw Hogwarts and their bloody love for gossip. Screw whoever the hell had been spreading even more rumours about her, and most importantly screw the professors, who seemed to think that by piling loads of work on the third years would make them less incompetent. It wasn't working, especially for Katie, who had quidditch practice five nights a week for at least three hours each day.

After taking a shower, Katie came out to an empty change room, and as she made her way up to the castle, she could see the rest of the team doing laps around the pitch alongside Harry.

Upon her arrival to the Gryffindor common room, she saw Harry's friends look up at her curiously. They probably wondered why Katie was back before the others, and so did, apparently, the rest of Gryffindor house.

"Hey, Katie, what happened?" asked a student in the year above her.

"Oh, er-- nothing. I have homework to do."

"Well, why are you back before the others? I can still see them on the pitch, they're doing nose-dives."

"I told you, I have loads of homework."

"We all know Wood won't let you guys out of practice early, no matter what reason, or how long you've been out there. What really happened?"

"I don't know what you mean," Katie said as she tried to push past the older boy. The common room was all watching them now and the boy finally said what she had originally expected him to say.

"So did Wood let you go because you're such a good shag? You get special treatment now?"

"Excuse me?! That is absolutely horrid! I am sixteen years old, if you think for one second that I spend my free time shagging older boys, then you are one hundred percent incorrect! Do you really want to know that bad why I left quidditch practice early? It's because I have _HOMEWORK_ to do. Oliver said that if I left the stadium, then I was off the team, but I left anyways. Do you know why? Because I've been too caught up with quidditch practice to do any of my homework."

Katie stood on the chair closest to her and faced the now silent common room. Everyone stared back at her. "Attention everyone! The gryffindor quidditch team is now in need of a new chaser! I suggest that you have the ability to endure soul crushing rants and verbal abuse, as well as have the ability to withstand hours and hours of practice everyday without getting tired. You also need good time management, because if you don't, then you will fail all your classes. So, pay attention to the board, a sign up sheet should be posted sometime within the next week. Thank you." The common room remained silent, and everyone watched as Katie jumped down from her chair and stormed up to the fifthyear girl's dormitory.

Katie threw herself onto her bed after studying for nearly five hours. The other girls in her dormitory were already asleep, and Katie had just closed her History of Magic textbook after rereading the four chapters pertaining the goblin wars. She hadn't dared to leave the sanctuary that was her dormitory, for she feared the wrath of one Oliver Wood, and was too embarrassed to even look at Angelina, Alicia, Fred or George in the face. She would have to leave those nerve-wracking tasks for the next morning.

As Katie lay awake in her bed, she wondered what would happen tomorrow at breakfast. Would she be welcome to sit with her friends at the Gryffindor table? would she be forced to sit far away? would they claim that she was a traitor to their team if she tried to converse with them? This, Katie was scared of. She had hardly any other friends than those of who she had played on the Quidditch team with, she was not used to making friendly conversation with other girls her age, unless the topic was of their favourite magical sport.

When Katie fell into a slumber, her sleep was plagued with horrid dreams of what might happen the next day. One dream in particular had Katie more stressed than the others. In the dream, Katie had been snogged by Adrian Pucey, much to her dismay, and Oliver Wood had thankfully pulled them apart. However, before Katie could thank him, he proceeded to punch her in the face and tell her that she was a traitor and was never allowed back on the quidditch team, and she wasn't allowed to talk to anyone on the team because she might plague them with her traitorous behaviour. He then said that he was embarrassed to even have been friends with her, and then spat on her before leaving her on the ground of the Great Hall, where nobody would help her get up or go to the infirmary.

Katie woke up with a start. Her bedsheets and pillow were damp in sweat, and Katie could feel dry tears stuck to her cheeks. The rest of her roommates had clearly already left for breakfast, with the exception of one girl, Leanne, who was shaking Katie awake.

"Katie, are you alright? You were crying last night," she asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I must've been asleep. Did I wake anyone up?"

"No, it was only me, but I'm a light sleeper. Amberly usually wakes me up with her snoring anyways," Leanne sighed.

"I'm sorry," Katie repeated.

"It's not your fault. From the sounds of it, it was Oliver Wood's. You kept muttering his name too."

Katie went silent and looked out the window so Leanne wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. Leanne put a hand on Katie's shoulder and sat down next to her, clearly undisturbed by the slightly wet sheets.

"If you don't want to eat with them, you can sit with me at breakfast. I also sit alone in every class, if you wanted company. I know they're not in any classes with us, but I figured that you could use some company."

Katie turned to face the kind girl and smiled. "Thank you, Leanne, that would be great." Katie got out of her bed and pulled on her school uniform. It didn't bother her that Leanne was there, the girls had been basically living together for the past five years; it's not like they haven't seen each other naked before.

When the girls got to the Great Hall, they sat as far away from the Gryffindor quidditch team as possible, which actually lead to to sit with some of Leanne's friends at the Hufflepuff table. 

Cedric Diggory beamed up at Katie and Leanne from across the table, his lip had porridge dribbling down from it. This made Katie giggle quietly to herself. With a quizzical look from Cedric, Katie pointed to her own lip, and Cedric took the hint. He quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth and chin, clearing all the porridge from his face.

Cedric laughed. "Just a part of my daily routine, it cleanses the skin, porridge does."

This made Katie giggle a little louder, and she could see her friends from the Gryffindor table watching her uneasily. Katie smiled at Cedric and Leanne; she had found her new people.   


Katie sat with Leanne in every class for the next coming week. Their classes, as usual, were brutal, with their first term coming to an end, and the Christmas holidays coming up. Katie was flustered with trying to find gifts for all of her friends. Even though she wasn't on speaking terms with Oliver at that moment, she still wanted to get him something special. It was his last year at Hogwarts, and she wanted him to remember it.  
  


Speaking of Oliver, he seemed to be avoiding Katie at all costs. Whenever she walked in to the common room or the library, he would scuttle away. Two weeks after this happened every day, Katie decided to ask Angelina and Alicia what was happening.

"We had a chaser tryout," Angelina explained. "It went terribly. There was only one girl who was good enough, and she's a second year. We don't have time to train her on all of our plays and such."

"Yeah, Katie, we need you back," Alicia added. "We've been practicing with only two chasers for weeks, and you know that none of Oliver's drills work with only the two of us." Katie looked up at them wearily.

"I doubt Oliver would ever let me back on the team, with the way we've been treating each other as of late. Besides, I don't have a broom."

"Neither does Harry, but he's doing just fine. Caught the snitch seven times at practice yesterday," Angelina cheered.

"Yeah, and I bet Oliver wouldn't mind lending you one of his extra brooms. We all know he's hiding at least two in his dorm. I bet he would let you use his Comet, those are pretty good brooms, in my opinion," Alicia stated.

"Ali, you're forgetting one thing: Oliver is currently going MIA whenever I enter the room."

"So then don't enter the room," Alicia said simply.

"How do you mean?"

"We'll lure him out of the common room, and you can wait outside the portrait hole and jump him. Not literally of course," Alicia added with a flustered look from Katie.

"That's actually a great plan, 'Li," Angelina said.

"Why the tone of surprise, my dear Ange?"

"Oh, shut up," Angelina laughed.

"Okay, So when do we do it?" Katie asked nervously.

"Tonight. Seven o'clock, wait outside the common room. We'll get Oliver out and you corner him. Get him talking, he's been miserable since you left."

"Alright. Let's do it."


	5. 4

As seven o'clock approached, Katie became more and more anxious as she waited outside the Gryffindor common room. Would Oliver come out? Would he even speak to her? What would he do when he saw her? These were questions that riddled Katie's mind as she stood, shaking, in the corridor.

When the portrait of the Fat Lady finally swung open, she could see Oliver emerge from the common room, and she pulled him behind a standing suit of armour. The knight's head turned to face him, but with a hiss from Katie, it assumed its normal position.

"Wha— Katie What the hell?" Oliver sputtered as he was trapped into the corner.

"Oliver, we need to talk. Why have you been ignoring me? Why haven't you chosen a new chaser yet, and why the bloody hell do you scatter like a rat whenever I enter a room?"

"Katie, I—" Oliver stopped talking as he looked into Katie's eyes. His angered expression fell and his quickened breath slowed. Katie could feel his pulse through his arms. His heart was beating a mile a minute, but soon that slowed as well.

"Oliver, please. I need answers," Katie pleaded. She couldn't take his silence anymore.

"Katie, I need you to understand that I really thought that what I was doing was best. Best for you, best for me, best for the team. I realize now that I was being stupid. Talking to you was one of the reasons that I got up in the morning. Seeing you, whether it be at mealtimes, or at practice, or at matches, it cheered me up on even my worst days. I was angry, you see. I was upset that you quit the team, I was furious with the fact that I would no longer be able to spend time with you. You wouldn't be at practice or at matches, and you stopped sitting with us at meals, so I got angry. I purposely started avoiding you so that you would feel the same way, but it didn't work. You seemed fine, you went about your day with your new friend, and Angelina and Alicia were talking to you in the common room constantly, and I was left alone. I would have a laugh with the twins every now and again, but the past two weeks have been the worst of my life. I'm really sorry, Katie. I truly am, I wish I could go back in time and fix all of this." Oliver let out a deep breath and his demeanour became relaxed.

"Why didn't you get a new chaser?I thought you said you were going to replace me?"

Oliver sighed and let out a soft chuckle. "Well, it seems as though you were right. When you told me off, you said that all the chasers were going to be incompetent, and you were right. The only good chaser available was Ginny Weasley, but she's only a second year, and she's still not too great on a broom. With a bit of practice, I bet she could replace Angelina or Alicia when they leave."

Katie smiled, happy to see her friend in such good sorts again. "So do you still want me on the team then?" Katie Asked nervously. What if Oliver said no? What if he decided to go with the twins' little sister instead? Wouldn't she be a better fit to the team? She already had relations with the twins and Harry. 

"Of course! Practice tomorrow!" Oliver grinned.

"No— wait. I'll only come back on certain conditions—" Katie said seriously.

With a frown, Oliver nodded his head. "Go on, then, what's your conditions?"

"Stop being so harsh on everyone. It's killing them, Ol', and you know it. We all want the cup as bad as you do, but we won't die for it! And cut practice time in half. I have O.W.L.s this year. The teachers are giving me loads of work, and I bet you're behind on your school work as well. You should be studying for your N.E.W.T.s!"

Oliver shook his head. "No. Katie, my methods are working. The team is more determined than ever, were practicing fine, and nobody else has even complained about how I run practices," he stated.

"Not to your face! What do you think Angelina, Alicia, and I talk about in the common room? Why do you think they're so angry?! It's because I don't have to do those bloody drills anymore, and they do! They told me that they wished they walked off the pitch with me that day! Alicia got a weeks worth detentions with McGonagall for not completing her transfiguration essay! She couldn't even turn her Pawn into a Queen!"

"You're lying. Angelina and Alicia are perfectly happy with the way things are being run on the team. Maybe I shouldn't take you back on the team after all," Oliver grumbled. As he pushed himself away from Katie's grip and back towards the common room.

"Don't you call me a liar, Oliver Wood! I am many things, but I am not a liar!" Katie called as she rushed after Oliver. They were in the common room now, and Oliver turned to face her.

"Don't try to interfere with my quidditch team. Don't talk to them, don't look at them, don't even think about them. We don't need your drama to distract us from what's important," Oliver spat, menacingly close to Katie's face. He spun around and marched up to the seventh year boys' dormitories, where he stayed for the rest of the night.  
  


Katie sat down on the sofa. She was shocked at the events that had just occurred, and as she sat down in front of the fire, Angelina and Alicia sat down on either side of her.

"Are you alright, Katie? What happened?" Alicia Asked.

Katie let out a sob. "It was fine at first! He told me how upset he was when I quit, and he confessed all these things that happened over the past two weeks, then he told me that I could rejoin the team! But when I asked him to go easier on everyone, when I told him that we all had a hard time keeping up with work and quidditch, he got mad. He called me a liar! He said that nobody else complains, and that I was the only one, when I know that's not true. So he left, and I told him that I wasn't a liar, and he called me dramatic and left!" Katie's tears became thicker as she explained the events of their plan. Angelina rubbed her back and Alicia entrapped her in a small hug as she let herself cry, and tried to calm down her breathing.

"It's going to be alright, Katie. Don't worry, we'll come up with another plan. Maybe we have to lose the next game in order for Oliver to see his mistakes. If we lose the cup, so be it, but we will not lose you too," Angelina assured.

"Thanks, Ange. Should I order a new broom in case Oliver changes his mind? I can get order one tomorrow at the Hogsmede trip," Katie Asked.

"Definitely! And make sure you get a good one, too. You'll want to return to the pitch in style."


	6. 5

Nearly a month passed, and Katie hadn't spoken Oliver since their dispute in the corridor and Katie, though often accompanied by Leanne or Angelina and Alicia, felt quite lonely. The Weasley twins had evidently wanted to speak with her, but Angelina had told Katie that Oliver had threatened to kick anyone who associated with her off of the team. Meanwhile, the Gryffindor quidditch team finally got a new chaser: Chastity Little, a seventh year who Katie had never taken notice to before now.

Now that Katie wasn't at quidditch practice for five hours a day, she had lots of time to do her homework. Which meant that when the others returned from practice, Katie would be all nice and cozy in the common room while Chastity bragged loudly to her friends about how great it was to finally be on the quidditch team, and how Oliver was a great captain who spent a lot of one-on-one time with her.

Though Katie did not want to show it, she was upset by everything Chastity had to say. She had come to unintentionally hate Chastity Little. She hated her pale complexion and her bright eyes and her brown hair. She hated how her main topic of conversation among her friends was 'Oliver Wood;' how soft his hair was, how muscular his arms were, how calloused his hands were, how great his butt looked in his quidditch uniform. It was annoying and frustrating. So much so, in fact, that Katie was dragged from the common room at least two times in one week by Alicia and Angelina, who said that Katie looked ready to pounce on the girl. They had to reassure Katie that Chastity was a horrid quidditch player, and that Oliver only picked her as a temporary replacement to calm Katie down.

"I hate this," Katie said after being pulled out of the common room for the third time in the past two weeks. She started pacing furiously in the corridor. "I hate her. She doesn't get to talk about him like that. He doesn't like her, does he?"

"Well... actually..." Angelina and Alicia had awkward looks on their faces.

"Well what? Does he actually fancy that bimbo?" Katie spat.

"Fred said that he accidentally... erm... he caught them snogging in the change rooms after practice last week," Angelina said.

Katie stopped mid-pace, face pale, jaw ajar, her eyes wide. "What?!"

Angelina and Alicia's faces filled with pity and they both wrapped Katie in a hug, whose eyes were filling with tears.

Katie let out a cry into Alicia's shoulder. "I know, I know, love. Don't worry about this, Oliver doesn't deserve you," Alicia cooed. "You and Oliver will be back to normal in no time, this girl will be back in the shadows, and you'll be back on the team. Everything happens for a reason, this will just make you stronger in the long run, yeah?"

"'licia's right, Katie. Things need to get worse before they can get better. Don't worry about Oliver, he'll come to his senses eventually," Angelina added. "Hopefully his bad decisions don't cost us the cup. We all know how much he wants this."

After nearly fifteen minutes of sniffling into Angelina and Alicia's shoulders, Katie wiped her tears and stood tall. "I can do this," she said. "I don't care what that girl says about Oliver or what she does with Oliver. He's not my boyfriend, I don't fancy him, but he is my family. I won't let some random girl with a mediocre talent for flying get in the way of our friendship, our companionship, our devotion to each other. Tomorrow is the day that I rejoin the team. I don't care if she's there: I'm the better chaser, I've got a better broom now, nothing can stop me. Her Cleansweeping ass can eat my dust because if she thinks for one second that she is better than me, that she has a better connection with the team because she snogged Oliver, then the joke is on her! And so what if she snogged him? Haven't we all snogged Oliver? I snogged Oliver when I was eight!" Katie rambled on and on as the girls went back into the common room. Alicia and Angelina nodded along and sometimes threw in a "yeah!" or a "definitely," but they let Katie go on her rant, allowing her to get all of her bottled up feelings out.

By the time midnight came around, Katie was exhausted. She had spent the past two hours talking non-stop about everything that was happening to her, what she was going to do, how she would confront Oliver and make things right. Katie and her friends separated when she reached her common room. The proceeding morning, at six, she would grab her new Nimbus 2001 and march her way onto the quidditch pitch. She would not have Chastity Little replace her. Not on the team and definitely not in Oliver's life.

Katie didn't sleep. Though she felt confident that Oliver would let her back on the team after he saw what he was missing, there was still a small flower of doubt blossoming in the pit of her stomach. When the clock struck five thirty in the morning, Katie jumped out of bed. Katie was running on pure adrenaline and nerve, having had gotten barely any sleep the night previous. She grabbed her broom from her trunk and dressed in her practicing robes and quietly rushed out of her dormitory and made her way to the quidditch pitch, where she knew they would be arriving soon. As Katie warmed up, she heard Alicia and George arrive on the pitch.

"Ah, Katherine! Glad to see that Wood finally came to his senses and got you back on the team!" George called as Katie swiftly flew to the ground.

"Well, you see, George, he hasn't quite let me back on the team yet," Katie replied. She had no idea how she was going to explain her plan to him.

"What do you mean?" George asked, a quizzical look on his face.

"Er--"

Thankfully, Alicia stepped in.

"Katie is here to get her spot back. She's going to kick some arse! Oliver won't know what hit him!"

"Wha--" George was cut off by a shout coming from the other end of the pitch.

"Katie! Glad to have you back!" Exclaimed Fred Weasley as he ran towards Katie and entrapped her in a hug. Behind him was a furious looking Chastity Little, standing next to Oliver. Though they were about ten meters away, Katie could swear that she saw a small smile tug at Oliver's lips.

"What is she doing here?!" Chastity screeched. "There are three chasers on this team already, and you can't replace me with her! I'm a star chaser! My father is a professional player, I have way better skills than this little girl!"

"Little girl? I am sixteen years old, I am not 'little,'" Katie replied in a calm tone. She had to keep her anger contained, she would not let Chastity Little get to her.

"Yeah, whatever. It doesn't matter how old you are, you were kicked off the team for a reason. Just face it, Bell, you're a slag and you suck at quidditch. Just get off our pitch, it's a closed practice."

"Whoa! Don't you dare--!" Fred launched himself at Chastity, but was held back by Angelina and George. "She is not a--! I am not afraid to hit a girl--! I have a bat and I will not hesitate--!" Through all of George's scrambling and screaming, Oliver placed himself between Chastity and the others.

"CALM DOWN!" He shouted. Oliver was fuming, his face red, his veins bulging, Katie could swear that she saw steam coming out of his ears. "Fred, that's two extra laps for you, Angelina and Alicia as well. Katie, you are disturbing a closed practice, see yourself off of our pitch."

Katie bowed her head and started to drag herself across the pitch as Alicia, Angelina and George grew even angrier.

"Katie's the best chaser we've got!" Alicia shouted.

"Yeah! If we lose the cup, it's your fault, Oliver!"

When Katie returned to the common room, she threw herself onto the vacant couch with a groan. The rest of her house was still sleeping; this weekend wasn't the designated November Hogsmede weekend. The only member of Gryffindor house that wasn't on the quidditch team was Hermione Granger, who, for some reason, was watching the quidditch practice through the window of Gryffindor Tower.

"What are you doing?" Katie asked as she plied herself from the couch and sulked towards the window. Oliver standing in the middle of the pitch with Chastity at his side. He was forcing the team to do run laps around the quidditch pitch; the team looked exhausted.

"I couldn't sleep, so I'm watching the team practice. It's usually calming. I wonder why they're doing all these extra drills," Hermione said sleepily.

"It's my fault," Katie informed. "I went down to the pitch to get my spot on the team back, Oliver wasn't too thrilled, and the team almost assaulted that Little girl when she insulted me. Oliver didn't even stand up for me," Katie added, lowering her voice with every word. She didn't know why she was confiding in the younger girl: perhaps it was because Hermione seemed so wise for her age; she could pass for an older student if you could only listen her speak.

"Wow. And I thought that Oliver liked you," Hermione said blankly.

"Based off of all those rumours that were spread around last month? Don't go acting too surprised, Oliver hasn't spoken to me since then."

"Well then you'll just have to make him talk to you," Hermione suggested.

"After today? No thanks, I would rather poke my eye out."

"Well that isn't shocking. Boys are not the smartest. Actually, if I'm being frank, they are the worst."

Katie laughed. "That isn't false, Hermione. Well, it was nice talking to you, but I'm going back to bed. I haven't exercised in a month, and I'm exhausted."

"Goodbye, Katie. I hope everything works out."

By the time the December Hogsmede weekend came around, a whole new lot of rumours were being spread about Katie, and she had a very good clue of who started them. Gaining her courage, Katie marched in to the Great Hall for breakfast on Saturday morning and approached the Slytherin table, searching for her target. When he was acquired, she marched straight up to his grinning face and smacked it.

"Adrian Pucey, if you even dare speak my name again, I will murder you," she snarled.

"That's funny, Kates, but I don't have any clue of what you are referring to," Pucey grinned.

"Really? How about the rumour going around that I like to shag the members of the Gobstones club in the owlery? How I like that the owls watch? It's bloody disturbing, and I know that you're behind it!"

"That is quite utterly disgusting, Katie, but I wouldn't mind so as long as there wasn't any owl droppings on the ground," Pucey said to the amusement of his friends.

Katie snarled at him before grabbing the bowl of yogurt on the table and pouring it over his head. "You're a bloody pervert and if you even utter a single word about me again I will destroy you."

Pucey grabbed Katie's wrist before she could turn away; his grip was was like iron. "Listen here, you little slag--"

Katie was pulled away from Pucey by a large figure from behind and was brought out of the Great Hall by this unknown person. She assumed that she was being pushed away by a teacher, but the figure was too large (yet too small to be Professor Hagrid). She could hear their heavy breathing and could hear their heart beating a mile a minute.

Finally, when they reached an abandoned corridor, Katie was released from their hold and she turned around to face her savior. It was none other than Oliver Wood.


	7. 6

It had been only a week since Oliver had kicked her off of the quidditch pitch, but a lot can happen in a week.

For one, the Gryffindor quidditch team had almost lost against Ravenclaw. Chastity, it appeared, was not as good of a chaser when she was under pressure, and Oliver's speech before the game got her very stressed out, or so Katie had heard. Now, in an abandoned hallway, stood Oliver Wood, just having rescued her from a major disaster in the Great Hall, begging Katie to rejoin the team.

"Please, Katie! We need you, I need you! You heard the team, you're the best chaser we've got!"

"Ol', I don't know what you want me to say. You agreed to let me back on the team over a month ago, then, just last week, you kicked me off the field and protected another girl when she insulted me!"

"Chastity has nothing to do with this."

"Chastity has everything to do with this! She was the reason you stopped talking to me, wasn't she? I thought that I was the only girl in your life! That's what you always say!"

"Maybe when I was twelve! We're not little kids anymore, Katie. I'm of age, you'll be of age in a year! We're grown up! You should have realized that you won't be the only girl in my life, nor will I be the only boy in yours! But that's not the point here. Katie, I need you back on the team, and I'm willing to... compromise," Oliver turned away slightly.

"Go on," Katie encouraged. She had never heard the words "willing" and "compromise" come out of Oliver Wood's mouth in the same sentence unless it was "I am not willing to compromise."

"I know your terms, and I've evaluated them. I will reduce the hours of regular practice to three hours daily instead of five. I can't promise anything before playing Slytherin. Because of this game, Slytherin is now beating us by 230 points, so we need to win the game by 240 at least. And I know that you want to study for your O.W.L.s, so you can stay up later than the rest of the team to finish your assignments. Is that good enough for you?"

Katie grinned. "I must admit, Ol', you really outdid yourself. I never thought you would agree to my terms. After the incident in the corridor, not to mention last week on the pitch--" Katie stopped. "Why didn't you defend me?"

"What do you mean? I didn't need to defend you. Chastity was the one being attacked," Oliver replied harshly.

"Being attacked?! She was the one who called me a slag! She attacked me first!"

"This is not the discussion that we're having right now: practice is tomorrow after dinner. Be ready." With that, Oliver marched back towards the Great Hall, leaving Katie alone with her thoughts.  
  


When Katie returned to the Great Hall, she sat down next to Leanne and Cedric at the Hufflepuff table, who were talking in whispers. As Katie approached, they fell silent and their expressions looked guilty.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked.

"Chastity Little was just told that she is no longer on the quidditch team," Leanne started, "And she had a meltdown. She started insulting you when she found out that you're back on the team, and told the entire school that you are a slag who will prostitute herself for five knuts and a Fizzing Whizbee a night." Leanne's face showed only sadness and guilt as she explained this all to Katie.

Katie's expression filled with horror as her eyes flooded with tears. "Why is she such a scathing bitch?! I never did anything to her! It's not my fault that she nearly lost us the Quidditch Cup!"

"Katie, don't worry about it! I'm sure something will happen to someone else and will make everyone forget about this," Cedric reassured. "In fact," Cedric stood up on the Hufflepuff table and shouted for everyone's attention. "PARDON ME?! HELLO EVERYONE! I would just like to announce that I have never had sex because I only have one testicle!"

The entire school ruptured into fits of laughter and chatter of this revelation as three professors urged Cedric off of the table. Katie gave a small chuckle as tears unwillingly escaped from her eyes.

"That is quite enough, Mr. Diggory. Detention on Monday night, eight o'clock in my classroom," said Professor McGonagall with a scowl.

Cedric sat back down with a grin. "Thank you, Cedric. That was... odd, but sweet," Katie said, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Ain't no thang but a chicken wang," Cedric grinned.

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Katie asked with a giggle.

"I'm not actually sure," Cedric replied. "My mate Ian has a pen-pal in America who uses that saying a lot. I guess it's sort of a take on 'you're welcome?'"

Katie let out a laugh. "The Americans are weird."

"Too right they are."

After that morning's events, between Oliver's stupidity and Chastity's cruel rumours, Katie decided to spend her time at Hogsmede with Cedric. Leanne was off buying dresses with Amberly, and Alicia and Angelina were at Quality Quidditch Supplies with Fred and George, so it seemed to be the perfect time to get to know her Hufflepuff friend a little better. After spending an hour in Honeydukes, shopping for all their favourite sweets, Katie and Cedric headed towards the Three Broomsticks for two nice, warm cups of Butterbeer.

"So, Katie, how's your brother doing? I heard that he works at Gringotts now?" Cedric asked as they sat down in a booth.

"Lewis is good. He's actually on a trip to Egypt right now for work, he's going to go work with Bill Weasley." Lewis Bell was Katie's older brother. When he had graduated from Hogwarts two years prior, he received top marks on all his N.E.W.T.s, and became a curse breaker for Gringotts Bank. However, Britain didn't have many hidden treasures, so Lewis was requested by Bill Weasley to assist him in Egypt.

"That sounds fun," Cedric said. "How long will he be gone?"

"He won't be back until school starts next year. Then he's going to decide if he wants to move to Egypt full-time."

"Wow. That must be terrible, not being able to see him. I remember that you two were close. When he was at school, it was always him, you, and Oliver hanging around the school together," Cedric pointed out.

"Oh, er-- yeah. I'm not on speaking terms with Oliver anymore," Katie mumbled.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Cedric suggested.

Katie smiled over her butterbeer. "Thank you, Cedric." Katie leaned over the table and kissed him on the cheek. "For everything. You didn't have to befriend me, or embarrass yourself for me this morning, or even keep me company today. You're very sweet."

A faint blush crept to Cedric's cheeks. "Ain't no thang but a chicken wang," he whispered.

Katie burst into laughter as her face reddened, before she quieted down. "I just have to ask... do you really only have one testicle?"

Cedric leaned over the table. "That is for me to know, and for you to guess." Katie laughed again, and took a sip of her Butterbeer.

For the rest of the day, Katie and Cedric joked and laughed about anything and everything, completely unaware of their troubles.

When dinner rolled around on Sunday night, Katie sat down at the Gryffindor table for the first time that day. At Hogwarts, it was only mandatory to sit with your respective house at supper. Katie had spent both breakfast and lunch at the Hufflepuff table, with Cedric and his friends.

"Katie! We were getting worried. We thought you might've forgotten about us," George laughed as Katie sat down across from him, in between Alicia and Angelina.

"Oh, shut up, George."

"Where's Oliver? I thought I saw him in the common room earlier," Angelina asked.

"He's sulking in his dormitory," said Fred as he sat down next to his twin.

"What? Why?" Katie asked. "I know it's wrong to ask but did he finally break up with Chastity? She is horrid."

"Actually, no. Chastity and Oliver never dated, I think he broke it off when we caught them snogging in the change room," Said Fred.

"Well, why is he so upset?"

"He mentioned something about Diggory, I think he's upset that you've found a new confidante, Katie."

Katie let out a snort, shooting some mashed potatoes all over George's face, "Oh please," she said through her mouthful of food. "Oliver and I haven't spoken in over a month, I doubt he's upset that I'm friends with Cedric. Besides, he made it very clear that he wasn't on my side anymore. If he's upset, then that's his problem."

"Thanks for that, Katherine," George said, wiping his face on his sleeve. "But you're right, he should have defended you against Chastity when she insulted you. Thankfully, you don't need him to protect you; you have us for that."

"Sorry George," Katie grinned. "Thank you guys for telling Chastity and Oliver off, even if you got extra laps for it."

"Don't worry, we're getting Oliver back for it," Fred smirked.

"Oh no, what did you do?”

"Let's just say we took this opportunity to prank both Oliver and Percy," George grinned.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm excited to see the results."  
  


It was sooner, rather than later, that Katie saw the product of Fred and George's prank against Oliver and Percy. It was when Percy came running downstairs with irreversible purple hair, chasing Fred and George, that gave her the idea of what Oliver might look like. To her surprise, Oliver came downstairs not too long later, his hair having grown a two feet, and was dyed a bright pink. Katie and the rest of the house burst into laughter as both Percy and Oliver chased one of the twins around the common room, who were jumping over chairs and people to stay away from the wrath of the Head Boy and the Quidditch Captain.

Although Katie felt bad for the two of them, she couldn't help but be grateful that this would distract everyone from all the new rumours surrounding her.


	8. 7

Katie was sweating. She was sweating a lot. When she had come back to the quidditch team, she hadn't realized how long it had been since she last did any exercise, besides maneuvering her way through the moving staircases every now and again when she was running late to class. She was just glad that the Christmas holidays were starting next week. She was looking forward to visiting her family and stuffing her face with her mother's delicious Christmas dinner, and with hot turkey sandwiches for breakfast the next morning.

"Everyone in!" Oliver shouted as they completed the final drill. The entire gryffindor quidditch team swooped down to the middle of the pitch and formed a circle around Oliver.

"You all did great today, Bell, it's good to have you back. I have a good feeling about our chances. If Ravenclaw beats Hufflepuff, and Slytherin beats Ravenclaw, then we'll be playing Slytherin for the house cup. It'll be brutal, but I have faith in our team."

Katie, Alicia, and Angelina let out a cheer and Fred and George patted Oliver on the back. "We're going to win the house cup this year, I can feel it!" Angelina exclaimed as the seven of them made their way back to the change rooms.

Alicia turned to Harry, who lurked silently behind the group. "You'd better not get yourself killed before the final, I mean it Potter," she said sternly, a small smile tugging at her lips. "If you do, merlin, I will tear you limb from limb."

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry retorted with a grin.

"Alright, everyone, only one more practice this week, then we're off for the holidays!" Oliver said when they reached the locker room. "Remember, if you have the chance to practice over the break, please do so. We may not have another game until March, but that doesn't mean we can stop working as hard. I'll see you all later." Oliver grabbed his bags and left the change room, Katie right on his tail.

"Oliver!" She shouted as she caught up to him. Merlin, his legs were long, and her legs felt like jelly.

Oliver turned around and a small smile appeared on his face when he saw Katie behind him. "Katie, what's up?"

"I just wanted to say thank you, Ol'. Over the past week you've been really great, and I know that it was hard for you to change your mind and compromise with me about changing practice times and such. I just want you to know that I appreciate it."

Oliver's smile grew. "You know I'd do anything for you," he said. "I'm sorry about how I was acting. It was completely—"

"Arrogant and arse-like?"

"I was going to say idiotic, but yes, that too," Oliver laughed.

"Well, I'm just glad we've made up for the holidays. Now you can come over for Christmas, like old times."

"Oh yeah! How's Lew? I heard he's in Egypt, that's exciting, yeah?"

"Definitely! He's doing great, but he won't be back until September. How's Maisie?" Maisie Wood was Oliver's older sister, she was a professional quidditch player for Pride of Portree. She was the person who encouraged Oliver's passion for quidditch. She had also been in a relationship with Lewis when Oliver and Katie were kids.

"Maisie's doing good too. She was just made a starter for Portree. She's going to be back for the holidays, we can ask her for tips for our match against Slytherin."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I'm just excited to see her again. I haven't seen her in two years!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you went away last summer to Hong Kong."

"Ugh, yes I wish I stayed in Scotland. My family knows that I only speak English, yet they continue to only speak to me in Chinese! I never understand what they are trying to say to me!"

"If it makes it any better, my family and I will only speak English and a little Scots. No Chinese."

Katie laughed. "That sounds lovely."

Katie and Oliver walked all the way up to the castle in a joyful manner. Katie was glad that she and Oliver were on speaking terms again, and that their relationship was back to normal.

As the two hiked up to the castle, students from every house watched them. Katie sighed, for she knew that more rumours were coming, and would probably be spread about before lunch even started, which, mind you, was in twenty minutes.

"Don't pay them any attention, Katie. They're hopeless gossips, all of them. If you know the rumours aren't true, then you don't have to prove yourself to any of them."

Katie smiled nervously. "I don't want to be the talk of the school. All of this, just because I rejected Pucey in September. It's bollocks."

"What? I didn't know that Pucey fancied you."

"You wouldn't, by the way he's spreading rumours about me."

"That's why he did it? I thought he was just being an arse."

"Well, That too," Katie chuckled. "I don't really mind anymore, I just hate when people stare at me. It's nerve wracking."

"Hm... well, I bet they'll all find someone else to torment once the Christmas break is over. Three weeks at home will do you some good."

"Yup! And I'll have good old Ollie right next door."

Oliver grinned. "We're going to have the best break ever."

Katie and Oliver had reached the entrance to the common room. The Fat Lady glared at Katie, she was not in a good mood. However, she softened when she saw Oliver. "How are you, dear?" She Asked him, ignoring Katie completely.

"I'm great, Daphne, how are you doing?"

"Not so good, Violet and I have been banned from visiting the other portraits by the headmaster."

"That's quite upsetting. What happened?"

"Well, Violet and I drank 'too many' bottles of wine from the portrait with the wine cellar, whatever that means. You know the one, it's near the kitchens. Well, it seems that being intoxicated is not appropriate when dealing with students."

"Well, Daphne, I believe I would have to agree with Professor Dumbledore on this matter, however, I do hope you feel better soon. Maybe if you keep it on the down-low, Professor Dumbledore may allow you visitation soon."

"Well, thank you dear. Now, Password?"

"Hercules," Oliver said as Katie watched him in shock.

"What?" He said as they entered the portrait hole. "She likes me."

Katie laughed. "The Fat Lady fancies you!" She let out an involuntary snort.

"She does not! And beside, her name is Daphne, she doesn't like being called 'The Fat Lady.'" Oliver replied, a faint blush raising to his cheeks.

"Whatever you say, Ol'. I'm going to finish up some homework."

As Katie suspected, over the next week, new rumours were spread about her and Oliver, about her, and about her and Cedric, now, too. She had heard that she, Oliver and Cedric were all dating each other, she had heard that she had cheated on Oliver with Cedric, and then proceeded to cheat on Cedric with Oliver. She had heard it all, and frankly, she was quite tired of it.

Katie let out a frustrated sigh as she boarded the Hogwarts Express, and, much to her dismay, some Slytherin girls were whispering behind their hands as they pointed at her.

"Don't let them get you down," said Angelina from behind her. "They're all stupid." Katie let out a reluctant chuckle and sat down in the first empty compartment that she found. Angelina, Alicia, Fred, and George followed her in and they all sat down, after putting their trunks up on the racks.

"Who do you think will win the Christmas Eve quidditch match? The Harpies or Ireland?" Angelina asked the group.

"The Harpies for sure," Alicia responded. "They've got Gwynog Jones!"

"But Ireland has the best lineup in a century! They won the bloody World Cup!" George argued.

"That may be true, but the Harpies have been training like madmen over the summer, I see them at the pitch for hours every day. They practice so much, you would think Oliver is their captain!" Angelina replied.

"What? How do you know that?" George asked in surprise.

"I bloody live right next to the stadium! You've been to my house before, no?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot," George laughed.

"George, sometimes I wonder how we are related."

"Shut up, Fred." George smacked his brother as the compartment door slid open, and Oliver sat down in between Fred and George. He gave Katie a smile, and she felt herself blush as she looked out the window.

Katie woke up as the train lurched to a stop. In her groggy state, she felt someone pick her up and carry her out of the compartment. When Katie felt them going down the steps of the train, she opened her eyes to see their trunks silently following them, as Oliver carried her over his shoulder. Wow, did he have a nice back. Very muscular, but somehow not too intimidating. Katie closed her eyes and went back to sleep; she was in good hands.


	9. 8

Katie loved her mother. She did, but every day was another fight. They argued on almost everything; some would say that they are too much alike. The few things that they did agree on, however, were that Oliver was a nice boy, that Lewis should come home for Christmas, and that Katie's father could not cook to save his life.

Katie and her mother watched as Phillip Bell brought out a blackened turkey on Christmas Eve. They laughed until they cried when the turkey was cut: The inside was black as well! How was he so awful at cooking that he had burnt the entirety of a turkey? Thankfully, Katie and her mother had prepared the rest of the dinner, so it would be edible. 

Katie looked outside the window and saw Oliver and Maisie playing quidditch. "Why don't we go over to the Wood's?" Katie Asked. "With Oliver and Maisie at home, they have to cook enough food for an army."

"I don't think that Deborah and Elizabeth will—"

"Don't worry, Mum, they love having us around. I'll go ask Oliver right now!" Katie rushed out of the house and into Oliver's backyard quidditch pitch. "Oliver!" She shouted as he blocked a quaffle.

"Katie! Are you coming to play too?" Oliver Asked as he willed his broom to bring him to the ground.

"Er— no, actually. My dad burnt the turkey. We were wondering if we could come over for dinner? We'll bring vegetables and stuffing!"

"Do you have that amazing honey ham that your mom makes?"

"Yes, thankfully we only let dad cook the turkey."

"Okay, I'll go ask mum. I'll be right back!" Oliver ran towards the house and left Katie and Maisie all alone.

Maisie landed next to Katie and wrapped her arm around the younger girl.

"How's my star chaser?" She asked with a grin. 

"Emotionally? Fine. Physically? Tired. I'm not playing as good as I used to, now that I'm back."

"What do you mean 'as you used to?' You haven't quit the team, have you? I'm trying to convince my manager to come scout you and Oliver!"

"Left the team? You didn't know? I thought Oliver told you. He was driving everyone crazy!" Katie explained everything that had happened since the beginning of the school year. 

Maisie shook her head. "I always knew my little brother was a madman. Thankfully, you're back on the team. Now gryffindor has a chance of winning."

Katie laughed as the back door to the Wood's house opened, and Oliver came out with a grin. "Mum says you can stay, just bring that ham!"

Katie grinned. "We'll be right over!" Katie tan back to her house and relayed the response of the Wood family to her parents. They agreed that eating a properly cooked turkey by Mrs. Wood was a much better plan than eating a entirely black turkey. They grabbed the platters of vegetables and the ham, and walked over to their neighbours' house.

When Katie arrived, Deborah, Oliver's mother, greeted them with open arms, welcoming them with a chuckle as they entered the Wood family household. As they entered the kitchen, they placed their platters down on the kitchen along with the other mouthwatering dishes prepared by Elizabeth, Oliver's mum.

As Katie's mother sat down, she thanked their hostesses. "Debby, Elizabeth, thank you so much for having us, I know it was last minute—"

"Oh, nonsense! When Ollie asked if you could come for dinner, we were delighted. We never spend time together anymore, now that the kids are back at school," Elizabeth replied from the head of the table.

"Well, this is Oliver's last year, isn't it?" Katie's father asked before turning to Oliver.. "What do you plan on doing after school, Oliver?"

"I'm planning on playing quidditch, just like May. Hopefully I'll play for a good team— but you never know. If I play for a bad team, like the Canons, maybe they'll make me a starter on the spot."

Katie and her father laughed, and Maisie spoke up. "Well, Oliver, you'd better keep Katie on the team if you want to impress those scouts this year. You know your team plays best when Katie is there."

Oliver gulped and let out a nervous laugh. "Of course, we need Katie," he said, eyeing Katie and Maisie nervously. 

Maisie smiled contently. "Good. I've heard rumours of a er— Chastity Little— or some ridiculous name like that." Oliver and Katie both tensed at that name. God, Maisie, not now!

"Er— yeah, that's all over now. Say, how's Lewis doing?" Oliver asked, changing the topic nervously.

"Oh!" Katie's mother said. "He's wonderful! He sent a letter yesterday, apologizing for not being able to come home this Christmas. He's very busy with a new case, he says he won't be able to break it for at least a week, then he has to spell-check all the objects he finds. He finds it quite exhilarating."

"That's great," Deborah replied, a warm smile tugging at her lips. "What about you, Katie? I know it's still a few years away, but do you have any plans for your future?"

"I'm not sure," Katie said, much to her mothers dismay. Katie's lack of planning lead her mother to believe that she would be an unemployed adult living with her parents until she got married. "I'm interested in charms and quidditch. Maybe I'll study the properties of enchanted wood, create broomsticks."

"That's very interesting. What company would you prefer, Nimbus or Firebolt?"

"Definitely Firebolt. Quidditch Weekly says that they're in the midst of creating a broomstick that's even faster than the original Firebolt. That would be incredible to work on."

When Katie's family and the Woods finished dinner, Katie, Oliver, and Maisie went to the back yard to play quidditch, while the parents discussed boring topics, like the news and the new Christmastime deals in Diagon Alley. Katie rushed over to her broom shed and grabbed her new Nimbus 2001. By the time she got closer to the homemade quidditch pitch, she could hear the voices of Maisie and Oliver, who were in a heated argument.

"If she hadn't left the team, I wouldn't have had to replace her!"

"She came to you, Oliver! She told you she wanted to come back, but you were too proud to admit that you were wrong! Someday, you're going to pay for the trouble your pride and arrogance bring you!"

"You weren't even there! You don't know what happened!"

"She confided in me, Ol'. I know what happened, I know all of it. I also know that you snogged that bloody witch Chasti—!"

"I didn't snog her! She snogged me— I didn't want to! Chastity came on to me, and as soon as she did, I told her that I fancied someone else."

There was a silence.

"And does the name of this someone start with 'K' and end in 'atie?'"

Katie stopped dead in her tracks, behind the large wooden fence. Thankfully, Oliver and Maisie both hadn't seen or heard her yet. Katie came back to her senses and shouted over the fence, pretending that she had just arrived.

"Are you guys ready for some quidditch?" She Asked as she entered the backyard. Maisie and Oliver's frowns both turned into large grins and Maisie patted Katie on the back.

"Kate! What took you so long?"

"I... Er— had to use the loo."

"Oh. Okay. Let's play!"

Katie laughed as the three took to the sky, Maisie and Katie shooting on Oliver, who took his regular position as keeper. Katie only got three goals in, but Maisie got five. Oliver was getting better at his position; in the summer, Maisie had scored seven goals on him, and Katie had scored six.   
  


After nearly an hour of playing, Oliver's mother, Debby, came to the back door and shouted at them that dessert was ready. The three of them zipped to the ground and ran towards the house, quickly storing their broomsticks in the Wood's shed, then stormed into the house for dessert.

After stuffing their faces with baklava and ice cream, Oliver and Katie were sprawled on the couch while Maisie went upstairs to write a letter. There were light snores coming from Oliver, he was asleep, but Katie was simply drowsy. She had her arms around Oliver's waist and her head was nestled on his chest, her eyes closed.

The parents walked in to the sitting room and sat down in chairs all around the room, holding a quiet conversation over the roar of the fire, trying not to wake up Oliver and Katie. Not knowing that Katie was asleep, the started to discuss their children.

"They're so cute together," said Debby. "Are they dating? Do you know?"

"I have no clue," Katie's mother replied. "I think they would be lovely together: Oliver is such a nice boy."

"And the same goes for Katie," Elizabeth said."Such a wonderful girl, and I hear she knows how to put Oliver in his place when he's being stubborn. Oliver could use someone like that."

Thankfully, Katie's face was facing the back of the couch, because her entire face turned red. Her— and Oliver? Of course, the idea had been proposed to her by Angelina and Alicia, but she never thought about it. Her and Oliver were like siblings— of course, that never stopped Maisie and Lewis, but everyone knew how that ended up.

Eventually, the topic changed between the adults, and they moved on to Maisie. "I think that Maisie is seeing someone," Debby announced quietly.

"Really? Do you have any idea who?" Katie's mother asked.

"We're not sure, but she's always writing letters to them up in her room," Elizabeth explained.

"Well, is it possible that it could be—"

"Anna—" Katie's dad interrupted.

"What?" Debby Asked.

"Anna is set on the idea that Lew and May are back together."

"Well, what gave you that idea? It could be true, but I doubt it— Lewis is all the way in Egypt, right?"

"Yes, well, Lewis said in his last letter that he was seeing someone, and if you think that Maisie is seeing someone too, then it's very likely that they could be dating again," Katie's mother explained.

"That's true, but Maisie and Lewis have been broken up for years! Why would they get back together now?"

"I don't know..."

The adults started talking in lower voices— well, either that or Katie was falling asleep. Her senses faded out until she could only smell the cologne she and Maisie had boughten for Oliver on his birthday last summer.  
  


Katie woke up to someone picking her up over their shoulder. She was drowsy and tired, but she knew the person carrying her was her father. "Dad," she said quietly.

"Yes, Katie?" He asked in a whisper as he brought her outside.

"What's happening? Why am I so cold?" she asked.

Katie's father let out a hearty laugh. "You and Oliver were asleep for a few hours, I'm bringing you to your bed now."

"Do you really think May and Lew are getting back together?" She Asked.

Katie's dad stopped walking as he got to the front door of their house. "I'm not sure, sweetie. When did you hear that?"

"You guys were talking in the living room— mum isn't as quiet as she thinks she is."

Katie's dad rubbed her back. "I suppose your mother is quite loud when she gets excited— even if she's trying to whisper." Katie's dad was now in her room, placing her down on her bed. "Get some rest, sweetheart, there's a big surprise tomorrow, and you're going to want to be awake for it." Katie's dad kissed her forehead and quietly exited the room, and Katie drifted off into a deep sleep.


	10. 9

_Dear Katie,_

_Merry Christmas! It's been a crazy week, I'm sorry I haven't been able to write. Mum and dad insist that we do every Christmas tradition before we go to Italy to visit family. I've been stuffed into a different Christmas jumper every day, and we've had to recreate at least 12 pictures from past christmases. Mum has been in a frenzy since I got home._

_How has your holiday been so far? Have you been playing quidditch at all since you got home? How's your family? Has Leanne sent you any letters? She hasn't been responding to mine._

_I know that it's Christmas Day, and you're probably busy, so you don't have to answer right away._

_Merry Christmas,_

_Cedric. Xx_

Attached to the letter was a picture of Cedric grinning in a Christmas jumper. Katie smiled— she missed him.

Katie folded up the letter and went downstairs, attracted to the smell of her mother's Christmas morning breakfast. Eggs, bacon, peameal bacon, hashbrowns, potatoes, and so much more covered the table.

"Mum! It looks like you're cooking for an entire army! Who's going to eat all this food?" Katie Asked. The table was covered from end to end with a large assortment of breakfast foods.

"Well, the Woods are eating over, I invited them last night."

"What?! When?"

"Sometime after your father brought you home. We stayed over for a drink."

"Oh. Well, when do they get here?"

"Katie, honey, they're already here. They're in the sitting room. Go on and say hello."

"I have to go get Oliver and Maisie's presents first!" Katie stumbled up the stairs and grabbed the two brightly wrapped presents that she had hidden under her bed. She then rushed back downstairs to greet her neighbours.

"Hello, lass," Oliver said with a grin.

"Oliver! You know I hate that word! Show some respect!" Elizabeth chastised, smacking her son on the arm.

"Sorry, Mum," Oliver grinned.

Katie handed Maisie and Oliver their presents. "Here, these are for you!"

Maisie and Oliver's smiles widened as they tore open their presents to find matching quidditch jerseys. They were black and blue striped, and on the back, in gold font, it read "Team Bellwood," Which was the name that they had come up for their imaginary quidditch team when they were children.

"I've got a matching one for myself as well, of course," Katie grinned as they gasped at the presents.

"These are so cute, Katie! Thank you!" Maisie said.

"I love it, Kate," Oliver smiles, wrapping her in a bear hug. 

Katie's stomach gave a lurch and her heart rate quickened. She didn't know why she was acting so odd, it wasn't like she and Oliver hadn't hugged before— or kissed for that matter. When Oliver let go, she was breathless, and he looked flushed in the cheeks as his mothers both chuckled quietly to themselves. 

  
From the kitchen, Katie's mother called them in for breakfast. They sat down around the table, passing around dishes to one another, Katie sitting in between Oliver and Maisie. The seat across from her was empty, but there was a plate set.

"Mum, is someone else coming?" Katie Asked.

"Man, I thought she'd never notice!" Said a familiar voice from behind her.

Katie spun around knocking a plate of toast to the floor. "Lew?!"

"Happy Christmas, Katie!"

Katie ran into her brother's arms. She had missed him terribly— and especially with everything that was going on at school this year...

"I thought you were staying in Egypt until September!" Katie exclaimed.

"Bill had to come home for the holidays, so he asked if I wanted to visit my family, and of course I said yes! Now come on, let's eat!"

Katie couldn't stop smiling all throughout breakfast. Lewis was home, Oliver was her friend again, she was back on the quidditch team, she and her mother had only gotten into a few arguments so far this break... things were finally going Katie's way. Until, of course, an owl flew in during the middle of breakfast, and a letter landed straight in Katie's eggs. 

Katie plucked the letter off of her plate and opened it. She didn't recognize the handwriting. As soon as she opened it, her hands started to swell as they were covered in large boils and blisters. Katie shrieked out in pain and tried to put her hands between her legs to stop the pain, but she started to scream even louder as the fabric where here hands had touched started to smoke and fall apart. Oliver grabbed her by the shoulders and stood her up and Katie's mother grabbed her arm and apparated the three of them away.

The world faded to blackness.

Katie had been to St. Mungo's hospital many times before— but she had never been in a room all by herself. Even though there was only one bed, the room was massive— the walls were lined with shelves that held different healing creams and potions, there was a desk in the corner, and a dresser next to the bed. Katie had a feeling that people spent a lot of time in this room.

The next thing Katie noticed was the mediwitch who sat in a chair on the other side of Katie's bed. She had a magazine in one hand, and her wand in the other. She flipped through a magazine as she held an ongoing levitation charm on Katie's swollen, pus-filled hands.

Katie let out a groan to signal to the mediwitch that she was awake. 

"Oh, good," the woman said. "I was beginning to worry that you weren't going to wake up." The witch let out a laugh, but after seeing the terrified expression on Katie's face, her face fell straight. "Right, sorry, that was a bit too soon. Do you want me to call your family in?" Katie nodded her head, but tears threatened to spill at the sharp that went down her neck.

"Wha— what happened?" Katie's voice was hoarse, she wouldn't have recognized it if she hadn't opened her mouth.

"Well, dear, you were cursed. It wasn't too terrible, we managed to get rid of nearly all of it , but you were splinched during the side-long apparition and it dislocated your shoulder in the process. It's not too serious, we were able to set your shoulder, but it'll be a while before you can move your neck around too much. We've got a brace for when you leave, just don't move your head while you're here."

"Okay," Katie said as she wiped the tears from her eyes, moving as slowly as possible with her uninjured arm.

"I'm going to get your family now, I'll be right back." The mediwitch handed Katie a small red button. "Have someone press this if you need me— I'll be in the next room while they're in here."

"Thank you," Katie mumbled, staring at the ceiling as the mediwitch left her in silence.

That silence, however, was broken almost immediately after the door swung back open.

"Katie are you alright?" She heard her mother ask. "I've been frightened out of my mind!"

"Katie," Lewis shouted in a slow tone. "Can you hear me?"

"I fell on my neck, I didn't rupture my eardrums, Lew. I can hear you just fine."

"Well you'll be on strict bedrest for the next three weeks," Katie's mother said. "So no more quidditch— did you hear that, Oliver?"

Katie closed her eyes at Oliver's name. He was here? He must be so disappointed!

"Don't worry, Mrs. Bell. We don't want our star chaser to get any more injured than she already is."

"And don't you worry, either, Katie bug, you're going to be just fine, so long as we follow the healer's orders," her father said, putting a hand on Katie's shoulders, which she forced herself not to wince at, even though it pained her beyond measure.

Eventually, the parents decided it would be best to leave the kids alone— or, at least, while they went to go get some coffee.

"Hey," Oliver said in a hushed tone. "Don't worry about quidditch, your spot will be waiting for you when you're better."

Maisie rolled her eyes from the opposite end of the bed. "Oh yes, Oliver. I'm sure that after being cursed, dislocating her shoulder, and hurting her neck, the first thing on her mind is quidditch. Get a load of yourself, she's probably scared out of her mind."

Oliver ignored his sister and turned back to Katie. "So... any idea who sent that cursed letter?"

"I've got a few. My main suspect, however, I have a feeling that you already guessed.

"Of course. Pucey," Oliver said at the same time as Katie said "Chastity."

"Wait, What? You think Chastity did this?"

"Who's Chastity?" Lewis Asked.

"She's Oliver's psycho girlfriend," Katie explained.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Oliver exclaimed, his face turning beet red.

"Oh yeah, and why was it that the twins caught you two snogging in the change-rooms then?"

"What?! Oliver you snogged the girl who cursed Katie?" Maisie nearly shouted as Oliver sprung up from the bed, his hands up in surrender.

"I did not! She came on to me! I pushed her off once I realized what was happening! The twins just so happened to walk in while I was still in shock."

"Yeah, but you defended her when she called me a slag!"

"You did WHAT?" Lewis asked, rage visible on his face as he stood up to show up Oliver. Maisie put a hand on Lewis' chest and backed him up.

"I think we should give them a moment," Maisie said. "Alone." She gave Lewis a pointed look and pushed him out the door, following him out.

"Katie," Oliver started.

"Did you honestly think that just dismissing my questions would solve our problems? I had asked you before, and you shrugged it off. I need answers. Now. Especially since she could have done this to me."

Oliver sighed and sat down in the chair next to Katie's bed, staring at the wall behind Katie's head. "I was angry," he admitted. "And jealous. I thought that you were replacing me with Cedric Diggory, I thought that you had maybe fancied him, maybe you were together. You had been spending so much time... why are you laughing?"

Oliver watched Katie as her face broke into a grin and she giggled profusely at his confession. "You mean..." she paused to laugh some more. "You mean the same Cedric Diggory who's dating Roger Davies?"

"Wha— Diggory's gay?"

"He's bisexual, actually, but that's not the point. Sure, Cedrics a good looking lad, but I'm not dating him, I don't fancy him. I don't fancy anyone..."

"You don't?"

"No," Katie replied softly.

"Oh— should I call the others in now, or do you want to sleep?"

"Let then stay outside, I could fancy a nap. Would you stay with me?" Katie asked as she grabbed his hand with her good side.

"Of course."


	11. 10

Katie spent the next two weeks in bed, wearing a neck brace and a sling whenever she got up. It was brutal, but thankfully, she had Lewis and Oliver and Maisie to entertain her while she rested.

Even though she enjoyed having them around, she missed Hogwarts, and missed her other friends. She was eternally grateful when the day came to return to her second home.

"Oliver, are you sure you can manage both trunks? I can take mine with my good arm," Katie said, only to Oliver's refusal.

"I swear, Kates, if you ask one more time to take your own trunk, I might just let you. You just got out of that neck brace, do you really want to hurt yourself further? It's bad enough that you're missing a week of practice."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Fine," she sighed, giving in. She felt so useless, she just wanted to do something of some assistance. Though, however annoying Oliver was, she was glad to have him with her— especially since their parents had decided that they could manage to get onto the train without any chaperones— as if they hadn't been going to the platform for years now.

"Doesn't look like anyone we know is here yet, want to grab a compartment?" Oliver asked as he peered his head around, looking for their friends.

"Sure. I'm sure they'll find us once they get here." They took a compartment near the end of the train and Oliver put their trunks on the luggage racks near the ceiling.

"So..." Katie started, unsure of where she was going with the conversation.

"So...?" Oliver repeated, questioning her.

"Did you have a good New Years? Mum told me you went to your gran's."

"Oh, yeah. Gran says hello, by the way." Katie smiled. "But yeah, she made her peppermint cookies, and we had cocoa, and roasted chestnuts, it was very traditional, same as every year. I found it quite comforting, really. My life's been very stressful lately, it was nice to have some familiarity this break."

"I know what you mean— for the most part. That cursed letter and the dislocated shoulder weren't comforting at all," Katie laughed, but Oliver looked concerned.

"I still can't believe that someone would do that to you— you're one of the nicest people I know."

"Yeah, well if it weren't for you writing down those letters for me, my friends wouldn't think I'm too nice."

"It was nothing, it's not like I had anything better to do."

"Oliver— you literally have a quidditch pitch in your backyard, I think you had plenty better things to do than sit around and transcribe letters to Cedric and Leanne and the others for me. So thank you."

"I— I guess you're welcome."

The two sat in silence, opposite each other, looking out the window, when finally, the train started moving.

"I bet the others will be here any minute now," Oliver remarked. But they didn't arrive. In fact, nobody had even stopped into their compartment for the first two hours of the trip, which Katie spent napping.   
  


When someone did finally arrive, it was Cedric, who sat down next to Katie as she sat up groggily.

"Did Leanne reply to any of your letters?" He asked.

"Erm, yeah I think so. She sent one about a ski trip in the mountains, said she had a blast. Mentioned something about a new cat. Why?"

"She hasn't responded to any of mine all break. Actually, they came back unopened."

"Well do you have her actual address? She told me that she moved to Ireland last summer."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she told me that before we left for holiday."

"Really? When?"

"When we were eating lunch at your table. You were probably busy staring at Roger the whole lunch break."

"Oh— well that was definitely the problem. I'd been sending them to her London address!"

Katie shoved Cedric's shoulder and grinned at him. "You're so dumb sometimes," she laughed.

Cedric smiled. "It's okay because I'm exceptionally good looking," he remarked.

"And ever so modest."

Oliver let out a grunt from the across the compartment, but Katie ignored him. "So how was your holiday? That trip to Italy must have been nice."

"It was alright— my great aunt Helga likes to pinch my cheeks every time I'm in the same room as her, and my Aunt Hilda kept trying to set me up with some girl at Beauxbatons."

"Do they not know that you're in a relationship?"

"Well I told them about a million times that I'm dating Roger, but they think I'm lying. 'You either fancy girls or boys,' they say, even though I told them I was bi."

"I'm sure they'll come around soon."

Cedric smiled. "Thanks Katie. I'd better go find Roger and Leanne, I told them I was going to get some liquorice wands."

"Then you'd better find the trolley lady while you're at it," Katie laughed.

"Alright, see you, Katie. Oliver." Oliver nodded his head silently at Cedric as he disappeared.

Katie turned to Oliver. "What was all that?" She asked with a pointed look.

"What was what?"

"Why did you get all quiet?"

"Well I'm not best friends with the chap, am I? Barely know the bloke."

"You could've said hello, or goodbye."

"Well it's not like he said hello, did he?"

"I suppose not," Katie said. "D'you reckon the others couldn't find us? Maybe we should go look for them."

"Let's stay here awhile. I like the quiet," Oliver said. 

Katie smiled. "Me too. And I don't want you to have to carry my trunk all the way to down the train— especially if we don't find them."

"I'm sure they're here somewhere, they're probably having a gay old time playing Exploding Snap or some other game of the sort."

"Hmm," Katie hummed as she closed her eyes again. Maisie had insisted that they stay up all night for her last day home, so Katie had to agree. It's not like she would be seeing Maisie at school— she would have to wait until summer to see her again, and barely, with quidditch training.

Katie pulled her cloak over her like a blanket, but she was still too cold to sleep. She tried to stop herself from shaking, but when her body stopped shivering, her teeth would chatter. 

"Here," Oliver said, handing her his jumper. It was thick and grey and had a broomstick knitted into the centre.

"I'm fine, Oliver, honestly. I should warm up in a second."

"Damn, Bell, just take the bloody jumper, will you? You're so stubborn you'd freeze to death before accepting any help."

"Only from you," Katie grumbled to herself as she pulled her cloak tighter around her body. 

"Katie— please just take the sweater. I'm not cold, I'll be fine, but you need to warm up or you'll get sick. Do you want to have a cold and a sling at the same time? You'd miss at least two extra weeks of quidditch for it!"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Fine, but only because the team needs me." She grabbed his jumper and threw it on— it instantly made her warmer. She pulled her cloak back overtop of it and smiled.

"All better?" Oliver Asked.

"Completely," Katie said. "Thanks."

Oliver grinned and looked out the window, drawing pictures of a quidditch match in the frosted corners as he bit his lower lip in concentration.   


Katie had never seen it before— what all the other girls fancied in Oliver. She never knew what made him so appealing. But seeing him now— here, right in front of her? She understood perfectly. Oliver was generous and kind, and though, admittedly crazily obsessed with quidditch, passionate, and caring, and headstrong, and, well, bloody attractive. She couldn't lie to herself— when his eyebrows knit in concentration, his bottom lip between his teeth, Katie felt butterflies in her stomach— or maybe that was just because she was sitting backwards as the train moved forwards. Either way, she knew that Oliver was one hot bloke. She blushed as he looked her way, but she shut her eyes quickly, hoping that he didn't catch her staring.

Her prayers were answered when she heard his humming and the squeaks from his fingers on the glass resume.

 _No, Katie_. She thought. _Oliver is just a friend. He always has been, and always will be..._

_Even though he admitted to being jealous at the thought of you with someone else._

"Did you two lovebirds have a good ride up?" Alicia asked Katie as they sat by the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

"Lovebirds? I don't know where you got that idea, Ali. How are you and George, by the way?"

Alicia flushed and sputtered for a moment before replying. "We're fine— but honestly, Katie. You spent all three weeks with Oliver—"

"—and Maisie and Lew."

"You spend the entire train ride up in a compartment with only him—"

"—actually—"

"And he carries your trunk up to the castle for you, and you're wearing his jumper. But you still deny any relationship?"

"That's not the point, is it? Oliver's a good friend. That's it— friend. And, for your information, he gave me his jumper so I wouldn't get a cold. And he carried my trunks because my shoulder is still sore from dislocating it. It was all so I wouldn't miss any more quidditch than I needed to. So all of your evidence is based upon false pretences."

"Wait— he's letting you skip practice? And you're not in the infirmary?" Angelina Asked from the armchair opposite Katie.

"Well, yes. But it's only because the healers at St. Mungo's insisted. But it's only a week."

"That's six practices! If any of us had an injury, he'd probably make us play anyways," Angelina rebutted. "Remember when Fred sprained his ankle and was wobbly all practice from his makeshift cast because Oliver wouldn't let him go see Madame Pomfrey?"

"But this is mandatory! Actual healers made him promise not to let me practise. You know I would be on my new broom if I had the chance, but I can't."

"... Or Oliver just fancies you," Alicia grinned.

"Honestly, would you guys quit it? I don't believe for a single second that he fancies me, and you shouldn't be going on making false scenarios in your head pretending that we're each other's soulmates or whatever goes on in those thick skulls of yours."

"They're only thick from scar tissue," Angelina grumbled.

Alicia cackled, sending the other girls into fits of laughter. "Gods, why is this even something we're debating?" Katie giggled.

"All because Oliver beat up Pucey for you in September," Alicia laughed.

They settled down after a few moments, and Katie sighed. "Wow. That was in September? It feels like years ago."

"It's only January," Angelina groaned. "Why does time move so slow?"

"Because we're miserable and freezing for six days a week," Alicia sighed.

"You'd better come sit in the stands and be miserable with us during the next week. we can't be miserable without you, it won't feel right," Angelina told Katie.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I just hope somebody gets back at Oliver for all these practices in below freezing temperatures. I want to see the red handprint on his cheek from the contact."

"Whoa, Katie, that's kinky."

"What—?! No— I didn't mean!! Agh!" Katie sputtered as the other girls laughed. "I hate you both," she growled.

"No you don't," Alicia grinned.

"Yeah, you're right, I don't. But don't be surprised if you wake up to find worms in your beds, because I won't hesitate—"

The other girls laughed again. "What?" Katie glared.

"Where are you going to find worms in the middle of January?" Angelina grinned.

"Oh shut up."


End file.
